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Glimpse the latest depth chart

After rejoining the team this summer, West Virginia senior Ivan McCartney is currently listed as a starter at outside receiver.

 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — At 8:24 p.m. on Sunday night, a mere six days before the season opener and only 36 minutes before a suspenseful homestretch episode of “Breaking Bad,” West Virginia released its updated football depth chart.

It did not clear up the starting quarterback mystery, listing juniors Paul Millard and Clint Trickett as co-leaders, with Ford Childress in the No. 3 slot. More clarity on that position battle could come Monday morning when Dana Holgorsen joins the Big 12 coaches teleconference or Tuesday when addresses the local scribes or Saturday when the offense runs its first play against William & Mary.

Recall Holgorsen said the staff planned to make its decision by Aug. 17 for the sake of prioritizing practice reps for the starter, so the internal decision is probably more clear-cut than this depth chart reveals. Perhaps Holgorsen is trying to keep Oklahoma’s staff from honing in on one guy, suspecting the Sooners might begin WVU preparations this week instead of focusing entirely on its opener against Louisiana-Monroe.

What the depth chart did provide was several notable surprises, at least surprising to those of us who watched two live scrimmage situations during preseason camp. Here’s the complete chart with starters in bold and my observations posted below:

OFFENSE

WR (X)—Ivan McCartney (Sr.)
Ronald Carswell (So.)

LT— Quinton Spain (Jr.)
Nick Kindler (Sr.)

LG—Marquis Lucas (So.) or Pat Eger (Sr.)

C—Tyler Orlosky (r-Fr.)
Tony Matteo (Fr.)

RG—Mark Glowinski (r-Jr.)
Russell Haugton-James (So.)

RT—Curtis Feigt (Sr.)
Marcell Lazard (Fr.)

IR (Y)—Daikiel Shorts (Fr.)
Devonte Mathis (r-Fr.)

WR (Z)—K.J. Myers (So.)
Kevin White (Jr.)

QB—Paul Millard (Jr.) or Clint Trickett (r-Jr.)
Ford Childress (r-Fr.)

HB—Cody Clay (r-So.)
Garrett Hope (So.)

RB—Charles Sims (r-Sr.)
Wendell Smallwood (Fr.)
Dreamius Smith (Jr.)
Dustin Garrison (Jr.)

 

DEFENSE

DT—Will Clarke (r-Sr.)
Noble Nwachukwu (r-Fr.) or Kyle Rose (So.)

NT— Shaq Rowell (Sr.)
Christian Brown (So.)

DE—Eric Kinsey (So.)
Dontrill Hyman (Jr.) or Kyle Rose (So.)

LB (Spur)—Isaiah Bruce (r-So.)
Marvin Gross (Fr.)

LB (Sam)—Jared Barber (Jr.) and Doug Rigg (Sr.)
Sean Walters (r-Fr.)

Mountaineers sophomore Nick Kwiatkoski is working as the starter at the Will inside linebacker.

LB (Will)—Nick Kwiatkoski (r-So.)
Tyler Anderson (r-Sr.)

LB (Buck)—Brandon Golson (Jr.)
Dozie Ezemma (r-Sr.)

CB (Boundary)—Travis Bell (r-Jr.)
Avery Williams (r-So.) or Brodrick Jenkins (r-Sr.)

CB (Field)—Ishmael Banks (r-Jr.)
Darryl Worley (Fr.)

S (Free)—Karl Joseph  (So.)
K.J. Dillon (So.)

S (Bandit)—Darwin Cook (r-Sr.)
Ricky Rumph (So.)

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

K—Josh Lambert (r-Fr.)

P—Nick O’Toole (So.)
Michael Molinari (r-Jr.)

H—Michael Molinari  (r-Jr.)
Nick O’Toole (So.)

LS—John DePalma (So.)

KR—Charles Sims (r-Sr.)
Wendell Smallwood  (Fr.)

PR—Ronald Carswell  (r-So.)
Jordan Thompson (So.)

 

Deep ponderings on the two-deep …

What’s up with Andrew Buie? We presumed he wouldn’t win the job over Charles Sims, but now last season’s leading rusher is nowhere to be found among the top four running backs. The Texas defense must be as puzzled as we are.

Rookies making moves on offense: Buie’s absence means that not only is true freshman Smallwood among the four-man rotation, but he’s listed at No. 2, ahead of Dreamius Smith. We’ve heard about Smallwood’s burst, but those compliments often were accompanied by concerns over his blocking ability. Guess the freshman is putting some helmets on defenders after all. … Shorts became a coach’s pet on Day 1 of moving to inside receiver, so he continues acclimating. … Lazard as the backup at right tackle was a little unforeseen because we figure Kindler is actually the backup at both tackles as a swing guy.

Rookies making moves on defense: Gross running as Bruce’s backup at the Spur linebacker is a by-product of junior college recruit d’Vante Henry being sidelined for camp with “personal issues.” Athletic as Gross is, I can’t see the 197-pounder contributing much this season unless injuries necessitate. … Worley is working behind Banks and can also play in the nickel and on special teams. The defensive coaches really seem to like his progress and potential. … Not seeing Al-Rasheed Benton listed on the two-deep at inside linebacker shouldn’t be a huge cause for concern. Within the past 10 days, Holgorsen emphasized Benton projected to be one of the top freshman contributors.

Catching on: Remember when assistant coach Lonnie Galloway said somebody’s going to catch 80 passes in this system because someone always does? Well, junior college transfer Kevin White seemed to be a likely candidate, especially after showing dynamic moves in the spring game. But entering Week 1 he’s running No. 2 to Myers at the outside Z-receiver. … And how about Ivan “I Will Return” McCartney earning the nod at the opposite outside X-receiver? Looks like the kid came back to campus with a purpose.







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